Town historian ready to retire

John Burgeson

Updated 12:05 am, Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Milford historian Richard Platt with a Revolutionary War musket in front of the historic John Downs house in Milford, Conn. on July 3, 2012. The musket belonged to a British soldier who was killed in a battle and was taken by a relative of Platt's.
Photo: Christian Abraham

MILFORD -- Richard Platt, who has stood guard over Milford's gems from an earlier era since 1998, announced his retirement over the weekend as the city historian.

This is an unpaid position -- his only perk for his efforts is free postage for the work-related mail that he sends out. It's a job that has important legal responsibilities, however, for the city historian has the power to delay demolitions for 90 days if the structure in question is more than 74 years old.

"I've had 183 cases come to me as the historian, and there were only five cases in which I let the demolition go ahead without the delay," Platt said. "That took a lot of my time over the past year."

Eventually, the home, standing when George Washington was inaugurated, was saved, thanks to the efforts of Platt and others. It was purchased two weeks ago by Lesley Mills, the owner of Griswold Home Care, who plans to restore the run-down duplex and rent it out.

Platt's resignation becomes effective on Feb. 15.

"If I didn't put a date on it, the city might say, `Well, you can retire when we find a replacement,' and that would only move the goal posts farther down the field," Platt said.

Before he was the city's historian, Platt taught history at East Haven High School. He said that he doesn't know of anyone willing to take over the post.

"According to the ordinance that was passed a number of years back, you should have a knowledge of the city's history, a knowledge of state and American history, and you'll need to know how to conduct historical research," Platt said. "The historian also fields a lot of questions on genealogy, too, so you'll need to know about genealogy as well."

Platt has an instrument of persuasion that he employed to get his point across -- an 18th century flintlock musket that he would brandish on occasion, usually while wearing a tri-cornered hat. Whether or not the weapon was loaded was anyone's guess.

Platt, who will soon be 81, said that while it might be difficult to persuade potential prospects, the job of city historian isn't all drudgery.

"I don't mean to scare anyone off," he said. "It's an open-ended job, really, and you can have a lot of fun with it."

Mayor Benjamin Blake said Monday that Platt "is irreplaceable" and added that he asked him to stay on a bit longer, to no avail.

"I even offered to double his salary," Blake joked, adding that his office is looking for candidates.

Across the Housatonic River, the town of Stratford has been without an official historian for years. Louis G. Knapp, author of "In Pursuit of Paradise: History of the Town of Stratford," retired as town historian a few years back after moving to Guilford.